Rep. Adrienne Wooten, D-Jackson, questions House Judiciary B Committee Chairman Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, about House Bill 1510, on what is likely to be the nation's most restrictive abortion law, Thursday at the Capitol in Jackson. The House voted 75-34 in favor of the measure, which would make most abortions illegal after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Republican Gov. Phil Bryant has said he'll sign the bill. The Mississippi Senate passed the measure on Tuesday.(Photo: Rogelio V. Solis/AP)

House Bill 1510, which if enacted would be the most restrictive abortion ban in the country, is now in the hands of Gov. Phil Bryant, who has indicated that he will sign it.

In a 75-34 vote, the House on Thursday concurred with changes made to the legislation by the Senate. Bryant has expressed his approval for the proposal, which would ban abortions 15 weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period.

Current law restricts abortions to 20 weeks after a woman’s last menstrual period.

Judiciary B Chairman Andy Gipson, R-Braxton, who co-authored the bill with Rep. Becky Currie, R-Brookhaven, asked his colleagues to approve changes by the Senate that removed criminal penalties from the bill that could have made physicians performing the procedure subject to being charged with a felony.

“What is this body going to do to assist these mothers,” Rep. Adrienne Wooten, D-Ridgeland, asked Gipson during debate.

"We have adoption programs,” Gipson responded. “But the bottom line is most women have (the procedure) before 15 weeks.”

Wooten pushed back that an amendment should be added to the legislation that would provide child care assistance for struggling mothers.

“We ought to bring them to your house and put them on your doorstep,” she told Gipson ending the discussion.

If enacted, the law would take place immediately. There's a question though of whether the state will actually see the law take effect.

In 2014, activists were successful in securing a federal court order to block a state law that would have closed the state's only abortion clinic. And the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately ruled that the law was unconstitutional.

Although House Bill 1520 differs from that 2014 law in how it restricts abortion access, proponents and opponents of the legislation expect its outcome will ultimately be decided in court.

“We know that bans below 20 weeks have been struck down,” said Attorney General Jim Hood in a statement. “We expect an immediate and expensive legal challenge.”

Diane Derzis, who owns the Jackson Women's Health Organization — the state's only abortion clinic, told the Clarion Ledger on Wednesday that she plans to sue if Bryant signs the bill.

Derzis, who owns the clinic, has told the Associated Press that the clinic does provide abortions until about 18 weeks after pregnancy. Most of Mississippi's 2,500 abortions in 2015 took place at the clinic, according to AP.

“What is the state’s interest in moving from 20 weeks to 15 weeks?” Rep. Jarvis Dortch, D-Raymond, asked Gipson. He told Gipson, “That’s what you’re going to have to argue in court, because no state has ever done this.”

“Can you tell me what’s to gain with those five weeks?” Dortch asked.

Gipson replied: "Several hundred additional people will be protected. The state of Mississippi has legitimate and compelling interest in protecting the health of the mother and of the unborn child.”

Abortion rights groups, such as NARAL Pro-Choice America, have said the proposal is part of a wider movement to restrict abortion access by shortening the timeframe that a woman can have the procedure.

“Thanks to this anti-choice bill and its backers, women in Mississippi are now one dangerous step closer to losing their constitutional right to access abortion. Let's be clear about the real outcomes for women if abortion ban bills like H.B. 1510 are signed into law: the number of abortions will not go down, and the number of deaths and injuries to women will rise. If the wellbeing and constitutional rights of women are of any importance to Governor Bryant, he will reject this measure promptly upon receiving it," the group said in response to the bill's passage.